Easy Bore Sighting Without a Laser Bore Sighter

November 5, 2018

Are you using a new rifle, new scope or maybe even both this season? Maybe you are trying new ammo. Perhaps your rifle and scope have been bouncing around in your back seat and you aren’t confident that it is properly zeroed anymore. In any case, it’s essential to sight in your rifle before you go afield. Winging it in this department is a bad idea and can lead to wild shots, clean misses or unfortunate shot placement that ultimately could wound an animal. All of those scenarios can and should be avoided by simply sighting in your hunting setup.

You don’t have to drop any cash on gadgets or take your rifle to a professional to get it dialed in, you can do it yourself. Friends and fellow hunters…let’s bore sight our rifles without any laser aids!

First, a few basic elements are required before you can sight in your rifle:

Mounting System:
Some things are meant to work as companions, and in this case a good mounting system is an essential companion for your scope. It doesn’t matter how fancy or rudimentary your scope is, the fact remains that a solid mounting system is important to the consistent accuracy of your scope. The investment you have wrapped up in a rifle and scope is significant, but don’t be tempted to nickel and dime the mounting system – good mounts will keep your scope secure avoiding the nightmare of unreliable zeros and inconsistency in hitting your intended mark, especially when you’re afield.

My rifle is outfitted with NOMAD ZL scope mounts from iota. These are really cool. It’s a ring-base combo mounting system that has under-angled screws rather than top down screws. This design gives you a smooth appearance which is visually appealing, but more importantly it reduces the amount of dirt and moisture, plus rust, that would traditionally build up in the sockets of top down screws. Another great feature is the ZEROLIGHT technology which essentially illuminates your turrets and level in low light situations. Speaking of that level, there is a built-in anti-cant bubble level to help you make sure you’re square every time which aids in avoiding inaccurate shot placement. (Get a closer look and a more in-depth explanation of the ZEROLIGHT, anti cant technology, right here.)

Scope:
Now, for the scope. I happen to be using the new Bushnell FORGE Riflescope, 4.5-27X50 with DEPLOY™ MOA SFP Reticle. I’m excited about this scope. Bushnell recently introduced three brand-new hunting lines of binoculars, spotting scopes, laser rangefinders and riflescopes. The one I have is from their new top-of-the-line FORGE lineup. There are a lot of great features about this, but from a practicality stance I think hunters are going to appreciate just how tough this thing is. Clearly the folks that developed this new line have spent a little time in the field and know that scrapes and bumps are going to happen, and they engineered it to really take a lickin’ without affecting performance. I’m using the 4.5-27x50 which gives me a lot of versatility and especially shines in long-range hunting/shooting scenarios. I’ll talk about this scope in more detail later and highlight all of its cool features, but if you’re curious now be sure to check it out.

Okay, with your scope firmly mounted on your rifle it’s time to get at it and sight it in. Now, before we dive in, it’s worth noting that some people prefer to do a preliminary sight in to get it on paper before they ever go to the range. This can save them a little time and possibly a few bucks in cartridges. However, I prefer to do it all at the range.

Bore Sighting:

Set your rifle up on a sturdy platform and use sandbags, a vise or any other suitable rest to support the rifle making it as rigid and stationary as possible.

Remove the bolt.

Looking through the bore of the rifle, line up the target you have placed down range in the center of the bore. (I set my target up at 100 yards.) Steady your rifle on that target.

Without moving the rifle, now move up and look through your scope.

Taking your cues from the position of the reticle on the target, adjust the windage (left to right) and elevation (up and down) until you center the reticle on the target.

With your first adjustments made, it is now time to fire a round and see where you stand. Put your bolt back in, chamber a round and send it down range.

After firing, take a close look at your target and note the point of impact. Now you need to adjust your scope to compensate for and correct your shot. This can be done a couple of different ways:

Some people prefer to essentially measure the point of impact both up-and-down and left-to-right in inches. From there they translate that number to “clicks” on their windage and elevation dials. On my scope it is noted that “1 Click = ¼ MOA”. So, if my shot is one and half inches low and an inch to the right that would translate to 6 clicks on my elevation dial and 4 clicks on my windage dial.

Instead of walking out to your target, measuring and counting clicks, in this instance your scope does all the work. Re-aim at the bullseye you initially intended to hit. From there, adjust your elevation and windage dials until the reticle moves and rests directly over the original bullet hole. Once you have your scope dialed in and centered on that first point of impact you should be pretty close.

With your second set of adjustments made, re-center your rifle on the target and fire another round down range. Hopefully, this has you close or even right on center. From here, fine adjustments can be made in the same way, if necessary.

NOTE: If you want to see the whole process in a live tutorial format, you are in luck. You can check out our friend Derrick Ratliff from Horizon Firearms sighting in a 22 Creedmoor right HERE.

You can have the best gear in the world, the most expensive gadgets, the best hunting location – however, none of it matters if you can’t hit the broad side of a barn. Y’all, take the time, get to the range and sight-in your rifles. Shot placement is everything and means the difference between a full freezer and a hefty serving of tag soup!

Travis Ferguson

Trav is a small town kid driven by hunting, fishing, rock/honky-tonk music, cold beer and his wife and kids. Being raised in a rural area surrounded by wildlife and lacking the luxurious amenities of big city life might be challenging to some; however, to Trav, it was an utter blessing. From his inception on, Trav has spent his life outdoors, he was taught at a very young age to hunt and fish and over the years these skills have molded him into a self-sufficient outdoorsman that strives to live a sustainable and God fearing lifestyle. When Trav isn’t behind the mic he’s either in the woods or on the water sharing his passion and love for the outdoors with his family and friends. So, don't bother searching for him online and you couldn’t pay him to own an iPhone, but let me reassure you of this: If there’s hunting and fishing, cold beer on tap and shaving isn’t required, he’s certainly not too far. What you see is what you get with Trav and to sum him up is simple, he doesn’t ask for a lot and he’ll never need much, a rifle, a bow, the love of his good looking wife and to be all that his children will ever need!

Sighted in my 7mm at 1 inch high at a 100 that's how I was taught. Good article Trav. How's that custom Horizon rifle and Bushnell scope getting along? Seen you've been knocking out some coyotes of recent. Popped 2 last week when I was on a doe hunt.

With that wide of variable how is that scope for close up shots? I sight all of my rifles in at 150 yards dead on because most of my shots are wide open and range from 125 to 400 yards. I do all my own sighting in too, don't trust anyone aside from myself to do it.

Like how you broke it down where it's easy to understand. I just bought my first rifle and scope and am going to attempt to sight it in this weekend so this helps a lot. Fingers crossed I figure it out.

Anti cant is that the level on the side of your rings I'm seeing there on the left side of your bases? If your gun is cocked at an angle that's not going to affect the travel of your bullet would it? Is the twist designed to align with a perfectly level barrel from left to right to give maximum trajectory and precision? Never gave it that much thought really. Now you've got me second guessing everything I do SMH lol!

That rifle is insane man. That's the one Derrick made right? Heard him on the show last week and checked out his ig page they have some killer rifles. Good blog tho love the detail and how you didn't try to make things complicated just for the sake of being cool.

OtherPages

About

The Revolution with Jim & Trav is a voice for the outdoors on the airwaves. The Revolution with Jim & Trav dominates the outdoor radio segment as the fastest growing nationally syndicated radio show and podcast dedicated to outdoor enthusiasts. This weekly radio show and podcast aims to accomplish a simple goal: to promote the participation in and enjoyment of outdoor activities, especially hunting and fishing.